Apricot Cherry Crisp with Pate Brisée Crust. It’s not quite a pie or even a cobbler exactly. It’s sort of in-between. That’s how it is here too. We’re on the cusp-of-summer in Los Angeles. However, unless you know what to look for, you might not know it. Despite the jokes about Southern California having no weather, there are small, unmistakable events that mark the change in each season: the autumnal shift of evening temperatures, the blazing blue skies of winter, the mist-veiled mornings of May gray. Once you’ve lived here long enough you get to know and predict the shifts that signal the annual equinoxes.
There’s another sign in the shift in our seasons and it’s best observed walking the stalls of our Farmers Markets. As the days lengthen, delicate greens give way to brilliant shades of yellow and red as summer’s fruits replace spring’s veggies. I’m not talking about the dog days of summer which bring us endless hordes of drippingly sweet peaches and rainbows of ripe plums. I’m talking about now. Right now. In Los Angeles you know it’s just past spring (but not quite summer) when apricots and cherries show up at the Hollywood Farmers Market. These early stone fruits are two of my favorites. So, for the next few weeks, I’ll be a bit like a “kid-in-a-candyshop” when faced with huge piles of glistening, ripe red cherries, and barely blushing, lightly freckled apricots.
While cherries always entice it takes very good apricots to excite. Very good apricots can be elusive, capricious and frustrating. They infuriate as often as they delight – leaving many a shopper wondering why anyone would bother with the cotton-mouthed texture of a none-to-sweet apricot. The problem is good apricots are soft-fleshed and don’t travel well. They need to ripen on the tree to fully develop their nectar. They get bruised and mealy if they’re stored too cold and travel too far. What’s more, their season is brief. When they show up in our Farmers Markets you know they’re local. So I grab a bundle and bring them into the kitchen where even the most mediocre specimens can be transformed with heat and a heap of sugar. That’s not something I’d normally suggest for most fruit.
Of course, a sweet partner can have the same effect as loads of sugar. Maybe it’s just because they share the same season, but apricots and cherries are a classic combination. So as we sit at the brink of summer I’ve decided to bring these natural partners together in a crisp that’s on the cusp of a pie. All they need to succeed together is a little sugar for balance and a little flour for thickening. Well that and enough crust to ensure some savory crunch in every bite. GREG
PS About the name Apricot Cherry Crisp. Some might consider this Pate Brisée-topped fruit dish a rather untraditional crisp. However, the sweet and savory combination of fruit and buttery pastry is classically delicious. Besides, I’m tired of crisps that don’t stay crisp.
Apricot Cherry Crisp
Ingredients
- unsalted butter (at room temperature for baking dish)
- 3 pound ripe apricots
- 3/4 pound ripe cherries
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ recipe Pate Brisée
- 2 tablespoon turbinado sugar
Directions
Butter a 2‑quart baking dish; set aside.
Slice the apricots into quarters or sixths, depending on size. Discard the pits and place the cut apricots in a large bowl. Remove and discard the pits from the cherries and place them in the bowl with the apricots. Gently toss the fruit with flour and granulated sugar. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out Pate Brisée into a 12-inch round. Cut into four 3‑inch strips; then cut the strips into 3 or 4‑inch pieces. Place the pieces over the fruit mixture in a random, patchwork pattern. Refrigerate uncovered for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the oven rack in the center position and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
When ready to bake, lightly brush the exposed pastry with water and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place the crisp on a rimmed baking sheet and place it in the heated oven. Bake until crust is golden brown and the juices bubble; about 55 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool before serving.
Ingredients
- 300 gram all-purpose flour (about 2 ½ cups) plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup sticks chilled unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
- ¼‑½ cup icecold water
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together in jagged clumps without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
Wow, I’m putting this on the list of summer dishes to make this year! Love the thought of cherries and apricots in the same pie…Looks super delicious! Great pictures too, Greg!!
You captured California’s seasons beautifully as well as this mouth watering crisp.
The seasons are definitely playing with us. Love Cali weather.
This crisp and that crust is so pretty and perfect. We do love apricots especially when we pick them out, but never tried it with cherry. I can’t wait for summer to make one of these and serve with a humongous scoop of vanilla icecream.
Your season is ahead of ours, although we’ll be able to enjoy this is about a month. Love stone fruit season! And love this crisp — SO much flavor, and it’s gorgeous. Thanks!
I feel like some of our seasonal cues have been changing recently. May Gray isn’t as reliable as it used to be. Perhaps that’s just down here in SD. I just look at the changing produce each season now 🙂 Apricots have become a favorite over the past few years. Have yet to pair with cherries though! I must try that this year (and this crisp!).
Holy cow. This looks so gorgeous and so stinking delicious! Perfect for my next picnic!
So many things to say! First, stunning pictures! Really. Bravo. Second, just when I thought I’d had every crisp I’d ever love, you present me with a new combo that I’m sure I will love. Third, arg! It’s barely — barely — spring in Chicago!
Love the patchwork “crust” you’ve made here. I agree, a great apricot is about as elusive as a great peach.…so hard to come by, but once you’ve sunk your teeth into one, you’ll never be the same.
Great photo Greg and I love the idea of using pate brisee on top of the fruit, my kind of a crisp.
We are so lucky that we get apricots from local trees here — not something I expected when I moved to the desert. An added bonus, for sure. And I love the pâte brisée topping, as you are correct: crisps really get soggy fast! Love this. Colorful. Flavorful. Seasonal. What more could a boy want?
Beautiful Greg! Wish it was apricot/cherry season here. We’ve had a very long spring and the thought of farmers markets is making me drool. As is this crisp!
We are still waiting on Spring in Toronto, today it rained all day as was no more than 7° C (44° F)! Definitely not spring in any stretch of the imagination. Even the famous Cherry Blossoms in High Park (a gift from the Japanese) have receded back into their woody branches — they are usually in full bloom by Mother’s day! Why talk about the weather? Because I reluctantly turn the oven on when it’s warm, I’ve even been known to bake a cake on the barbie but since our weather is so inhumane, THIS is a perfect dessert. We have Ontario apricots but they are usually not until later but the cherries look divine and I love that you’ve used a Pate Brisée as the topping and your treatment is very clever. Definitely perfect for a cold spring dessert!
#myfavoritefruits We have to wait at least 2 months here! Love the cherry on top of an apricot photo! #envious
Looks wonderful Greg! You have a way with pies:) Happy May Day!
What a gorgeous crust! Heading out to Farmers Market in search of cherries and apricots now. I love this time of year in So. Cal.